The Stone
This pages gathers all theories on The Stone The Stone as the Core of a Global NetworkCategory:Dwarven Mythology Theory by Sister Squish Hedinve, on 10 Jan 2015 - 9:29 PM: “The Stone lives beneath Orlais. Mathas gar na fornen pa salroka atrast.” http://dragonage.wik...iki/Nexus_Golem How can the Stone be simultaneously everywhere and in one place? There is a core. Think AI core. Think cybernetics. We have speculated that 'The Stone' was crafted by June. Move away from the traditional, medieval idea of crafting from metals. June was interested in the ideas her Pantheon brethren were interested in - manipulation of spirits, godhood, and the ultimate goal of true immortality. But she took a different path than Ghilan'nain's trapping of spirits from the fade. June set out to see if she could artificially create life. Actual lives, who would devotedly worship her for eternity. From a core consciousness, veins of lyrium would grow throughout the planet - a global neural network. What these lyrium veins are made of is debatable - perhaps they are condensed fade particles? Or simply a product of June's own magic-infused craft. Whatever it is resembles artificial plasma used in cybernetics to imitate blood - particularly, that liquid which serves as conduit for mental synapses connecting, transferring vast amounts of data. This also works for the "flooding" with lyrium of a golem shell to bring it to life. Shari'El, on 12 Jan 2015 - 6:51 PM, said: Actually no, sound works in a very specific way, sound is waves, silence can be created by a sound wave being mirrored. Look at that mangled wave. When humans and elves touch lyrium, skin-to-skin, they suffer. But dwarves are at least resistant to the effects. Lyrium's 'song' is the stream of artificial consciousness, which is on a very slightly different frequency than that of 'biological' life forms. Skin is but a slither of membrane potentially connecting two consciousnesses. In theory, perhaps, there may be rare circumstances where data can be transferred from 'The Stone' to 'biological' life forms. Which leads me onto the existence of dwarves as life forms... which may not be popular. 'Cybernetics' is a broad term, concerned with the way systems work, the way they govern themselves, and the way they process information. These systems can include what is typically seen as machine, or a human body. This area tries not to have bias towards either the mechanical or the biological. Quote Solas reference to dwarves: Although it may twitch to give the appearance of life, it may never dream. The conclusion is... dwarves were crafted, mostly biological beings capable of interacting with and experiencing the physical world - though connected to 'The Stone' instead of the fade. When a dwarf conceives a child, a data package with size equivalent to a soul is 'downloaded' into a growing body. When a dwarf dies, it's 'soul' - it's consciousness - is uploaded to 'The Stone'. Paragons are revered so greatly due to the contribution they have made to the collective consciousness on returning. High achievers are only made paragons on death because of this. Life in the physical world continues to have value, collecting information and experience with each lifespan. This may explain the anxiety dwarves have regarding the surface, too. Dwarves may still return to 'The Stone' when they die, but so much experience with other races and cultures is perhaps not relevant to the collective 'dwarf' consciousness. The data's lack of use for dwarven society in particular lessens the whole. The term 'Cybernetics' comes from the greek for 'helmsman', 'controller' or 'governance'. Dwarves refer to 'The Stone' as 'she'. I theorise that June, in order to assure success, included her own consciousness/spirit in the process. The core deep under Orlais may be where she initiated this. If darkspawn reached the core in order to infect it with 'Blight'.... it may be a slow chain reaction in corrupting all 'The Stone's lyrium 'neural network'. Red lyrium may be found in places where the infection has spread. vierra, on 11 Jan 2015 - 1:16 PM, said: Dwarven legends state, that the Profane are dwarves so corrupt that even the Stone rejects them, they feed on lyrium, and, in fact, chose a name for themselves, because they feel that they were abandoned, although it is unclear by whom. A poem found on the walls of Revann Thaig implies, that when trapped or abandoned aeons ago, the profane "feasted upon the gods". Now, I've been thinking... what could have made a dwarf corrupt to join the Stone? My guess, it's a connection to the Fade, strengthened by ingesting lyrium later on, as it was clearly revered by ancient dwarves (red lyrium idol). Maybe, and it's a very big 'maybe', mind you, such dwarves were considered a threat for a hive mind of Titans, and thus became rejected and later became rock wraiths. With any localised infection, we may cut the bad limb off or suck out the poison in order to keep the body healthy. Profane are the 'bad limbs'. The Blight, however, infects the very 'spirit'.... something which cannot simply be cut out. Yet, the slow spread and accumulation of Red Lyrium on the surface may indicate 'The Stone' working overtime to flush it out... like puss spilling from an infected wound. This theory gives more weight to existing debates within Thedas. We may agree with Solas' unfavorable opinions on the Qun - a way of life for those who, for whatever reason, choose to give up their individuality for the greater good. Yet what of those whose 'collectiveness' cannot possibly be a choice? That for dwarves, it may be a part of their very existence? Are we still to tell them that the way they live is not the correct way? Aaand that's all I have for now. Disclaimer: not expert in any of these things, just a fan.